sudden cardiac arrest

Athletic trainers need to take a more public health approach to injury prevention by expanding their professional focus from the teams and athletes they work with at their institutions to all physically active individuals, urged speakers at the National Athletic Trainers' Association's 2016 Clinical Symposia and AT Expo.

HIgh-school AED programs demonstrate a high survival rate for students as well as adults who suffer sudden cardiac arrest on school campuses, says a new study, which strongly recommends school-based AED programmes as an important public safety measure and an effective strategy for the prevention of sudden cardiac death during sports.

Nearly 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest annually. Because cardiac
arrest leads to the death of one youth athlete every three days in the United
States, sports parents should know how to perform CPR and
use an AED, which can significantly increase a victim's chances of survival.

In a Cal Ripkin Baseball game on April 13, eight-year-old Matthew Henry was hit in the chest by a pitch and left the batter's box on his way to first base. He collapsed after a few steps, reportedly the victim of commotio cordis ("agitation of the heart," in Latin).

The value of having trained medical personnel and an automated external defibrillator nearby was never more apparent then in this month's Youth Sports Heroes blog honoring two pairs of Good Samaritans who, in an 11-day span, saved the lives of an 8-year-old baseball player and a mom watching her son play baseball.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association is now an official
supporter of Advocates for Injured Athletes and its Athletes Saving
AthletesTM program, which provides high school students with
training and skills to recognize signs and symptoms of life-threatening
injuries, with the aim of reducing the risk and incidence of
injury and death among student-athletes.

Young baseball and softball players who receive direct ball impact to
the chest wall directly over the heart may develop sudden cardiac
arrest, a condition called commotio cordis. Teaching batters to turn away from an inside pitch, and pitchers to react as quickly as possible to a batted ball hit back at them can help reduce the risk, and an AED and a someone trained in CPR should be on site at all times to increase the chances of survival.

March is National Athletic Trainers Month. Although the number of athletic trainers at U.S. high schools is increasing, the latest statistics suggest that less than half have an AT on staff. Here's a video that shows just how important they are in keeping our kids safe.

MomsTeam's continuing mission from the day I launched the site in August 2000 has been to improve the safety of
our young athletes and prevent catastrophic injury and death.

Today, I am excited to be in Washington, D.C. for a one-day Youth Sports Safety
Summit hosted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA).

Today, I am excited to be in Washington, D.C. for a one-day Youth Sports Safety Summit hosted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). I am attending in a unique and dual capacity, both as a member of the Youth Sports Safety Alliance and as a member of the media.

With the support of 40 sports and health organizations, including
MomsTeam.com, the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has issued a C+ grade on youth sports safety for 2010, reporting that 48 young athletes died since the beginning of the year, with sudden cardiac arrest accounting
for nearly half of those deaths, brain injury (concussion) for three, heat illness three, and exertional sickling (a
result of sickle cell trait) one. Approximately 8,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each day for
sports-related injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, high school athletes suffer 2 million injuries, 500,000
doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year.